Microsoft halts roll out of update KB3105208 for Windows 10, which is causing Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) on Surface devices and many other PCs that make use of Secure Boot. However, this problem is only happening for those devices running Windows 10 Insider Preview and there is a workaround for those users who have already installed the update.
The update described as KB3105208 is the “Windows 10 Insider Preview October Update”, it’s another cumulative update, and because updates are now delivered automatically you probably have already installed it.
While the problem is serious, it’s only affecting those computers that have Secure Boot enabled, which means that Surface Pro 4, Surface Pro 3, Surface Book, all other Surface devices are affected too.
Microsoft is aware of the issue and it proactively working to find and push a fix. In the meantime, the company is recommending a simple workaround, which is to disable Secure Boot in the system firmware.
Because not every device is built in the same way, how you disable secure boot will depend on your computer manufacturer. If you’re a Surface owner, you can disable Secure Boot with the following steps:
Stop blue screen on Windows 10
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Shutdown your Surface.
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Press and hold the volume up button and press the power button.
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Your Surface will boot straight to the Surface UEFI environment. Now, disable Secure Boot, which is the option under Security.
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Next boot your Surface normally.
On a statement acknowledging the issue, Microsoft’s Gabriel Aul, head of the Windows Insider Program said:
“The series of hotfixes that we’ve been sending out are actually mostly “empty” (they include some config changes and test binaries) and have been for the purpose of testing our delivery pipeline. So this definitely caught us a bit by surprise that it was having this impact. We’re debugging what the precise cause was, but this happening to you likely exposed a bug that we need to address – so I hope you at least feel good as an Insider that you prevented this from happening to less technically savvy customers.”
As such, we’re hoping the company to release a new Windows Update to resolve the issue caused by update KB3105208. Although, this isn’t a good experience for customers, this is the price to pay to using a pre-release version of the operating system.
Have you been affected by the Blue Screen of Death in your Surface Pro 3 or PC? Let us know in the comments below and tell us if the workaround solved the problem temporarily.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].